Aston Martin to build sports car commissioned by Fernando Alonso

Aston Martin is to build a road-legal track version of its Valor sports car – the Valiant – which was personally commissioned by its Formula 1 driver Fernando Alonso.

Aston will produce 38 Valiants, which will be front-engined and equipped with a 5.2-liter twin-turbo V12 powerplant developing 745 hp.

The car also features hubcaps inspired by those used on the Aston ‘Muncher’ car which raced disastrously at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1979.

The car is built by Aston’s ‘Q’ bespoke production division, which allows potential owners to individually customize the look of their car.

“Valor was a spectacular celebration of Aston Martin’s 110th anniversary and inspired me to create a more extreme, race car-inspired version focused on the track, while still offering thrilling road driving,” Alonso said in an official press release from Aston.

“Valiant was born from my passion for driving at the limit and I have enjoyed working closely with the Q by Aston Martin team on both the design and technical specifications and I believe we have created a masterpiece ‘artwork.”

Aston’s press release also states that the Valiant “continues a strong Aston Martin lineage that delivers true driving intensity on road and track with the ultimate hypercar, Valkyrie, the most focused sports car in the world.” brand, Vantage and its speeding sibling, the Vantage GT3 race car and of course the upcoming mid-engined supercar, Valhalla.

The Valkyrie, co-designed by Adrian Newey and now preparing to unveil its completed RB17 hypercar before leaving Red Bull, will be entered by Aston in the World Endurance Championship from 2025.

Aston’s decision to produce the Valiant follows Alpine building a track-focused version of its Alpine A110 R, dubbed the ‘Alpine A110 R Fernando Alonso’.

In October 2022, Alpine revealed it was continuing to build 32 versions of the car – the number chosen to reflect Alonso’s total Grand Prix wins so far – after the two-time world champion F1 has already decided to leave the Renault company. manufacturer to join Aston for 2023.

He recently signed a new deal to race in F1 with the green team beyond 2025, which included a yet-to-be-defined off-track role, which Alonso described as a “lifelong project” at the manufacturer.

“Valiant is a modern masterpiece,” said Marco Mattiacci, Alonso’s boss briefly at the Ferrari F1 team in 2014 and now global brand director and commercial director of Aston Martin Lagonda.

“A Q creation by Aston Martin, inspired by a motor racing legend and designed using the latest F1-inspired technology, exotic materials and obsessive weight reduction.

“The aim is to place the driver in a truly unique, intense and emotional driving experience.

“The ultimate blend of performance, track-focused dynamics and hypercar intensity, Valiant embodies Aston Martin’s single-minded commitment to building rare and extraordinary cars for real drivers.”